Up To Date
by PerditaAlottachocolate
Summary: Thanks to Alya's overeagerness Marinette gets roped up into helping Adrien in his newly established dating plan. No, not as his date. As his assistant. But has any of dating schemes she has been involved in ever worked out? Adrien might not be as lucky as he thought when he got her on board. And they say dating is so much fun. [Possible spoilers to Frozer, but not confirmed]
1. Eavesdropping

_Author's Note: So apparently there's a spoiler from a Spanish magazine circling the fandom concerning the Frozer episode - but I'm not gonna repeat it here because I couldn't find the original source. All you need to know for now is that the spoiler inspired this._

 _I want to keep it in the form of drabble/snippets but update more frequently as I have time (which unfortunately is a rare commodity lately :( ). Anyway - enjoy!_

* * *

 **Up To Date**

 **Chapter 1. Eavesdropping**

It wasn't like they were eavesdropping on purpose. Alya wasn't above such things to get a scoop, but the fact was, they weren't. They just happened to be in the ladies room, when Nino and Adrien started talking outside and after she heard the topic of the conversation, the Ladyblogger just grabbed Marinette's hand and shoved her back into the locker room.

Her friend was confused at first, but as soon as she picked up Adrien's voice she started listening.

'Are you sure you wanna ask her out?' There was disbelief in Nino's voice and Alya swore to have a word with him later. 'Dunno, dude, this seems kinda sudden?'

'It's not like I had many opportunities to date before I went to school,' Adrien pointed out. 'And yes, I want to ask her out.'

'But why _her_ ,' now Alya's boyfriend sounded almost like he whined. There would definitely be words, she decided.

'She's nice,' the blond said defensively. 'She's pretty. I like her dark hair. It reminds me of- Nevermind,' he stuttered. 'She's really talented and very well organized. We have a lot in common.'

Nino sniffed at that. 'Well, it's your date, not mine,' he replied without much conviction.

Alya stilled. Was he trying to sabotage her good work? You'd have to be a half wit not to recognize Adrien had apparently _finally_ decided to ask Marinette on a date, and Nino was low-key discouraging him?! Over her dead body. She turned to her friend, who eagerly followed the conversation and apparently came to similar conclusions.

'You have to act now,' the redhead put a hand on Marinette's shoulder. 'Before Nino ruins everything!'

Her friend nodded with determination and squared her shoulders. The wrinkle on her forehead was set into "battle mode".

'Good,' Alya's lips stretched in an approving smile. 'Now go there and get that date!' she ordered and all but pushed Marinette from behind their lockers and right to the front of the boys.

'Hi!' Marinette squeaked, giving an awkward wave and offering a stiff and all too wide grin.

'Oh, hi!' Adrien positively beamed seeing who joined them. He must have been used to their friend's quirks by now, because he looked extremely pleased, as if the girls didn't just jump on them.

'How long have you been here?' Nino asked, frowning. He looked suspiciously anxious, which proved further that he definitely knew what he had been doing when he got caught in the act. There would be _a lot_ of words.

Alya knitted her brows and decided to ignore the fact that her boyfriend started to shake his head and wave his hands in a clear "no-no" manner, keeping those moves out of Adrien's sight.

'Long enough to hear that you have cool dating plans, Agreste,' the redhead nudged Adrien with an elbow.

Marinette nodded solemnly and blushed for better measure. Well, Alya would be surprised if she hadn't, considering her great moment was about to come right now.

'Ah, yes,' Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. 'That's my plan, but Nino refuses to help me,' he added accusingly.

Alya shot the boy in question a hostile look. His eyes bulged comically and he was vigorously wiggling his brows and still shaking his head. What's got into him?

'Does he indeed?' she drawled crossing her arms in front of her chest. 'And what kind of help do you need?'

'I… well…,' Adrien dropped his gaze to the floor and shuffled his feet. 'I need an idea for a date. And I need to ask her out,' he mumbled.

'What a happy coincidence!' Alya exclaimed with a wide grin. 'Marinette here is an expert when it comes these kind of situations,' she gave her friend a half hug and a wink.

'She is?' the blond perked up.

'I am?' Marinette echoed with eyes like a deer caught in the headlight.

" _Sure, she had months of experience at how_ not _to do it_ , _"_ Alya snickered inwardly. 'Oh, suuuuure,' she said instead. 'You know how inventive my girl is!'

'That's true, Marinette,' Adrien turned to their friend. 'You're just amazing and always have the best ideas!'

The Ladyblogger pretended she didn't see the facepalm Nino just performed nor the eye roll so excessive only his whites were visible for a good moment.

'I… er… thank you?' Marinette fidgeted nervously. The blush crawled from her cheeks to her neck and ears.

Alya raised a brow and looked triumphantly to Nino. He shot her back an unimpressed look. She started wondering why was he acting like that, but Adrien mercifully saved her the effort.

'So, Marinette,' he asked, with those adorable puppy eyes sparkling with innocent happiness, 'where do you think I could take Kagami out?'

* * *

 _AN: Ta-da! How do you like it so far? Let me know! You know reviews, favs and follows mean a lot to me! They inspire and motivate me to keep going!_

 _A big smile to Kinyth for beta scan of this chapter 3!_

 _For more miraculous content visit my profile or tumblr blog (perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com). Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art. My askbox is open too! Hopefully see you soon in the next chapter!_


	2. Prompting

**Up To Date**

 **Chapter 2. Prompting**

Marinette wondered if this was the ultimate sign that she should just give up on pursuing Adrien. She felt as if the universe was looking for a good laugh at her cost. And this time, _this time_ , it wasn't even _her_ plan to ask him out, and it still backfired on _her_! How much more mocking would she be able to take before she's had enough? It was against the laws of probability for her to fail every time.

And now not only she lost all the chances, but also got roped into Adrien's dating plan as an assistant.

She fixed her earpiece and screamed inwardly at the sounds of Adrien's quickened breaths right in her ear. The boy waited on the other side of the yard to ask Kagami out looking every bit as awkward as she felt. Marinette couldn't help but to muse that for someone who had once invited her to the ZOO with such suave (when _oh irony_ the invitation was from Nino, and not himself), he was surprisingly nervous. Up to the point where they even had to rehearse the whole scene, with Adrien blushing and tripping over his words in front of a stunned Marinette who was his Kagami-double.

That blush almost made it up for the inconvenience. Adrien Freaking Agreste stuttering an invitation and peeking at her from under his long lashes, squeezing her hand and giving her a cordial "thank you" hug. He followed it with shy request to be his moral support when he asks Kagami on a date. Marinette should have said "no", she should have suggested asking Nino, she should have done anything else instead of agreeing. And now she had the back row seat to the spectacle and and audio feed thanks to the earpiece stuck in Adrien's ear.

Then the fencer clad in red stepped out of the hall and greeted her friend with a warm smile.

' _Adrien!'_ Marinette heard her saying. _'I didn't expect to see you here today!'_

' _Hi, uh,'_ the aspiring designer saw Adrien's hand going up to the back of his head and she winced when he accidentally rubbed over the earpiece sending screechy crackling sounds to her end.

'Ow,' she hissed back at him. 'Be careful with the mic!'

' _Sorry! I didn't mean to!'_ He exclaimed sheepishly, and only then realized he was currently supposed to be talking to a different girl. _'I mean… sorry I didn't tell you my session was moved to tomorrow!'_

Kagami sent him a confused look. _'That's okay,'_ she drawled. _'You don't have to explain your schedule to me.'_

Marinette saw her shrug.

' _Yeah, I don't,'_ Adrien echoed eloquently. _'I just I wanted to…'_ he trailed off and Marinette recognized he must have forgotten his speech.

Kagami knitted her brows but waited patiently for him to continue.

'Go out,' Marinette prompted quietly into her microphone.

' _I just wanted to go out!'_ Adrien blurted out and proceeded to rub the back of his head with his other hand.

Kagami tilted her head. _'What's stopping you then?'_ she frowned.

Marinette sighed. Apparently the first bump in the road made Adrien even more anxious. She had to make this as simple as possible. 'Tell her,' she said carefully, '"I want to ask you out"'.

' _You do?'_ Adrien stopped mid scratch, voice confused.

' _I do?'_ Now Kagami sounded even more baffled. _'I'm sorry, maybe I'll just go now,'_ she offered causing Adrien to flail his hands.

' _Sorry! Sorry!'_ he cried out. _'Just- just- give me a second, okay?'_ He took a deep breath and started rubbing his face.

Marinette decided the time called for moral support. 'Calm down,' she whispered. 'You can do that, just like we practised.'

She heard Adrien exhaling slowly. 'That's right,' she encouraged. 'Deep breath. You can do it, sunshine.'

She had no idea where the nickname came from, but Adrien stopped mid breath to steal a sideway glance at her, something between amused and indignant danced in his eyes, before he turned back to Kagami and his hand returned into his hair.

Marinette decided to talk to him about all that rubbing later. At this rate someone, most surely the object of his affection, might think that all that carefully styled hair is there to hide lice.

'Focus,' she said instead. 'and repeat after me.'

She saw Adrien nodding.

'Repeat,' she instructed, praying for her voice not to quiver and betray her broken heart. '"Kagami, would you like to go out with me?"'

' _Kagami,'_ the boy echoed obediently, _'would you-'_ was it her imagination or did he falter mid sentence? He definitely gulped.

'Go out with me,' Marinette prompted, trying to ignore the frantic twisting of her stomach. She briefly wondered that all it took to say those words to Adrien was for them to be directed at someone else. Oh, the irony was going to kill her.

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line and then Adrien continued. _'Would you go out with me?'_ his voice was a little breathless so that Marinette could hear Kagami gasp.

The fencer's eyes widened and her gaze trailed to the side, probably due to surprise. But then her lips stretched in a soft smile. _'I'd love to,'_ she admitted and Marinette's heart sank to her stomach.

Adrien released a shuddered breath of relief and straightened up. Then suddenly Kagami's eyes snapped to the far end of the courtyard and back to the boy, her smile bordering on a smirk.

She leaned in and for a moment Marinette thought she wanted to kiss Adrien on the cheek. Then, she heard the girl's voice right in her earpiece.

' _Is that you, Marinette? How are you doing?'_

* * *

 _Author's Note: Sorry, there's no fixed schedule. My work was crazy these last few weeks and I desperately needed a breather. I'm still not sure how often I will be able to update. Hopefully, you'll stay with me!_

 _Tell me, what you think of this little chapter? I'd love to know!_

 _A huge thank you to Remasa and Kinyth for beta-reading and complaining about poor Marinette!_

 _For more miraculous content visit my profile or my blog: perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com . Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art. My askbox is open too! Hopefully see you soon in the next chapter!_

 _By the way, I'm celebrating a milestone in followers and I'm doing a give away on tumblr. Maybe you are interested?_


	3. Improvising

**Up To Date**

 **Chapter 3. Improvising**

The cogs in Adrien's brain were turning with an impressive speed. They've been caught. Kagami saw right through their assistance plan and he was sure this wasn't a good thing.

The girl gestured to Marinette to join the two of them, and his assistant reluctantly moved from her hideout.

'Is this some sort of a joke?' Kagami crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was the epitome of confidence which, combined with her red fencing attire, might or might not be a factor in Adrien's decision to ask her out.

'A a-a joke?' Marinette choked out. She had enough of foresight to get rid of her earpiece, but the cat was out of the bag anyway.

'You listening to Adrien asking me out,' the fencer raised a brow. 'Are you making fun of me?'

'Noooo!' his classmate assured shaking her head vigorously.

'Noooo!' Adrien echoed after her. 'This is just a misunderstanding,' he felt he should somehow defend his friend. He cast Marinette a panicky look. She returned the gaze and something flickered in her eyes, a determination that wasn't there a moment ago.

'I promise, we weren't making fun of you,' Marinette stated solemnly. 'Adrien was just helping me out.'

'He was?' Kagami muttered, the angry look instantly replaced by confusion. 'By asking me on a date?'

'We… um…' Marinette shot him a quick glance, and Adrien nodded. Whatever was her plan, it seemed like she knew what she was doing and he was going to trust her. 'See, we were talking the other day about our friends dating and how much fun it is, so we… um… we…'.

Adrien held his breath. He already knew his friend was amazing, but apparently he severely underestimated how much of a master of improvisation she was.

'So we um… decided it would be a good idea to try,' Marinette soldiered on. 'I mean, with people we really like!' she squeaked and Adrien bobbed his head in agreement.

Kagami's stare turned suspicious as she looked between them.

'But neither of us has ever asked anyone out,' Marinette continued, fidgeting a bit. 'So we kinda wanted to help each other with inviting people and learn at the same time…?' she ventured.

'And you wanted to go on a double date?' the fencer tilted her head, but her expression softened.

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other. Was this what their impromptu explanation implied? The boy shrugged subtly. If this was the way out of this awkward situation, he'd take it.

'Yeah,' he turned to Kagami. 'Double dates must be double fun, right?' he chuckled, though it came out a bit strained. He nudged Marinette and she nodded with a stiff smile.

'Sure,' she piped in, 'double dates are double fun!'

'O-kay,' the fencer relaxed a little. 'That sounds reasonable,' she decided. 'And I can't imagine a better company, too,' she smiled warmly at the two of them.

Adrien inwardly sighed in relief. He owed Marinette big time. He risked a glance out of the corner of his eye. Marinette's rigid smile shifted into something much more genuine.

'Thank you,' she breathed and bowed with her hand over her heart.

'Okay, I'm glad we've cleared this up,' Kagami returned the bow. 'Your idea sounds fun. Adrien,' she turned her attention to him, 'like I've said before, I'd love to go on a date with you. Just text me the details,' she waved her phone, 'and I'll be there!'

'Of course!' the boy beamed at her. 'I'm looking forward to it!'

'Me too,' Kagami dropped her gaze to her shoes, and there was a hint of blush dusting her cheeks. Her mobile beeped. 'Now excuse me, my driver is waiting.' With that she smiled at them again and left.

'Phew,' Marinette sighed sinking to the nearby bench.

'Phew, indeed,' Adrien sat next to her and rested his head on the wall behind. 'Good teamwork there, partner in crime.' He held his fist to her and Marinette bumped hers against it, giggling delightfully.

'Yeah,' she snorted. 'Why didn't we think she'd notice?'

'Because you never noticed Nino's earpiece at the zoo?' Adrien offered with a smirk.

'I noticed,' Marinette frowned. 'But I had an earpiece too, what was I supposed to say? Besides, I was nervous.'

'Really? Why?' Adrien chuckled and moved closer, bumping shoulders with her in an attempt to lighten the mood.

'Eeep! I was… I…' she unexpectedly went all red and reverted back to stutter. 'Well… pfffft… you try to be relaxed when Alya whisper screams into your ear!' She shoved him back and pouted.

Adrien was startled momentarily. Why did no one tell him Marinette had such an adorable pout? He shook himself up, allowing one of Chat's smirks to quirk his lips.

'Thank you for not whisper screaming at me today then, mademoiselle,' he winked at her.

Marinette's lip twitched as if she wanted to smile, but she stubbornly kept the cute pout, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

'Hey, aaaand… just like Nino and Alya at the zoo you got yourself a date,' he singsung leaning closer again. 'Without Ladybug's intervention,' he pointed out helpfully.

'What d-date?' the girl turned to him, her eyes blown wide.

'We're going on a double date now, partner,' he nudged her with his elbow. 'Or have you already forgotten?'

Light of understandment flickered behind the blue irises and then Marinette was madly shaking her head. 'Oh, no, no, no,' she whispered, horrified. 'That was just an excuse!'

'What do you mean, it was an excuse?' Adrien frowned withdrawing from her personal space at the speed of light.

The girl waved her hands apologetically. 'That's okay, Adrien. We needed to think of something for Kagami not to feel offended.'

'But… '

'Tell her my date bailed out on me and you two will go alone,' Marinette continued.

'No way, she will expect you to be there!' the boy protested.

'Adrien, you're seriously expecting me to thirdwheel on your date with Kagami?' she rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation and turned away from him.

'No, I'm expecting you to go on a double date with us,' he pressed on.

'Well, I don't have a date,' she hissed. 'And I'm not crashing your date, either!'

Ah. Adrien thought he understood now why she acted this way. He put a hand on her shoulder.

'Marinette,' he said softly trying to coax her into looking back at him. 'Hey, I owe you, partner,' he smiled when she turned to him. 'And don't worry. You're in good hands. I have just a perfect date for you!'

* * *

 _Author's Note: Thank you for all your lovely and encouraging reviews so far! They mean a lot to me. I constantly struggle to find time to write and sometimes your feedback is the only thing that keeps me going!_

 _As usual many thanks to Remasa for beta reading and saving you from all those typos and mistakes! Check out her new spooktober fic! It's awesome!_

 _For more miraculous content visit my profile or tumblr blog (perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com ). Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art. My askbox is open too! Hopefully see you soon in the next chapter!_


	4. Going out

_Author's Note: Will you look at that! Another update!_

 _To be honest, I thought I would be further into this story by the time Frozer airs, but nothing can be done about that now, can it? I'm really excited to finally see that episode! Just a few days left!_

* * *

 **Up To Date**

 **Chapter 4. Going out**

That was definitely not how Marinette imagined she would get to go on a date with Adrien.

 _This is not a date with Adrien. This is not a date with Adrien,_ instantly a voice at the back of her head started the chant. _This is not a date with Adrien._

Even if technically she _was_ going on a date and Adrien _was_ going to be there on a date too. Oww, she could already feel the headache approaching.

How had he even managed to convince her to do this?

Oh right, with his devious good looks and treacherous kindness. Damn, that boy was her kryptonite.

'Think about it, Marinette,' Adrien argued. 'This is a perfect opportunity!' He even had the audacity to put a hand over her shoulders. 'We can support each other. We can give ourselves a boost of confidence!' He squeezed her arm. 'I mean I feel much more confident and safe when you are near…' he ended in a low murmur, his voice pouring over her like treacle.

By the end of his speech Marinette was reaching boiling point, the skin on her cheeks nearing a royal lobster shade of red.

'Yeah!' she squeaked. 'Me too!'

 _Though not right now_ , her traitorous brain supplied.

'See,' Adrien beamed at her. From this close she could sense he definitely had sprinkled himself with _Adrien the Fragrance_ and it was making her dizzy. 'You're gonna love it, I promise!' he enthused. 'I'm sure the four of us will have a great time together!'

Marinette bit her lip. She could resist her crush's invitation for only so long before her brain would be fried.

'O-okay,' she sighed in defeat. Damn it, the smile and hug she received in return was totally worth it.

And now she was standing in front of her wardrobe, musing about what to wear on her very first real date.

"Dress warm and comfortable" was the only clue she got from Adrien, as he was the only one who knew where would they be going. Marinette usually valued comfort, but being an aspiring designer meant she didn't really need to choose between that and making a good impression.

That "warm" part wouldn't leave her alone. It would have been strange of Adrien to remind her to dress accordingly to the weather, so it meant they were going somewhere where warmth would be difficult to sustain.

 _Oh,_ she smiled to herself. There was only one type of date eligible place she could think of that would require for them to stay warm and where the comfort would come in handy. Maybe Adrien wasn't as sneaky as he thought.

Marinette quickly grabbed a pair of thick pink leggings and black shorts to wear over them. She selected her knee-high socks with kitten ears at the top. After a moment of consideration she decided to complete the look with a light pink cotton blouse, a gray wooly vest and a beret of the same color. The girl remembered to put her gloves in the purse. Her fingers always got cold on the ice. Tikki took her place next to the gloves, squealing in delight at her outfit.

A little bit of lip gloss, a brush of mascara. She promised herself to have a terrific time despite the circumstances, and those little actions were an additional confidence boost. The girl was adding final touches to her subtle makeup when her mother knocked on the trap door and announced, 'Marinette, your date is here.' Her confused tone startled the girl.

'Is something the matter?' Marinette asked.

Sabine shrugged. 'I thought you were going out with _Adrien_ ,' she confessed.

Marinette closed her eyes and exhaled loudly, trying to stomp down her own disappointment for a thousandth time. 'I never said that,' she replied as she moved past her mother and down the stairs.

Luka was standing at the door, with the most serious expression she had ever seen on him. She noticed he traded his usual tee for a black button-down and instead of his hoodie he wore a slim gray jacket. It seemed that without his baggy clothes he gained a few centimeters in height and that look definitely suited him.

An adorable bouquet of carnations rested in his hands. They were of a charming baby pink color, just like her blouse. The boy perked up when he saw her.

'For you,' he rasped before clearing his throat. 'Wow, you look amazing tonight, Marinette!' he complimented.

'Thank you,' she felt the blush creeping up to her cheeks. She thought she could get used to the soft look in his eyes as he handed her the flowers. 'How did you know pink was my favorite? Juleka told you?'

The boy shook his head. 'I remembered from those few times you visited, that there was always something pink on you. Your purse,' he pointed to her round bag. 'Your backpack, those adorable flowers you put on your designs. It wasn't really hard to put two and two together,' he smiled at her and she felt her insides churn in anticipation. She had to admit that maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all.

'Have fun! And take a good care of our girl, Luka!' Tom called coming to them from the living room. His lips were stretched in a welcoming smile, though Marinette noticed that he also looked surprised at who her date turned out to be. Oh, well, apparently she wasn't the only person in this house that should move on.

As Luka turned to the door, Marinette's father grabbed her elbow. 'I thought you were going out with Adrien,' he whispered into her ear. The girl could only roll her eyes. It's not like she had been engaged to her crush, though not for the lack of planning.

And then she felt Tom stiffen next to her.

'Good evening Madame Cheng, good evening Monsieur Dupain!' As soon as Luka opened the door, Adrien's sunkissed thatch of hair appeared in sight. His trademark grin could probably power a small village. Marinette froze, already thinking of the conclusion her parents just reached judging by their startled faces. She would have facepalmed if she wasn't afraid to ruin her makeup.

'Wow, Marinette, you look amazing!' her oblivious classmate exclaimed appreciatively. 'So are you ready to go?'

* * *

 _AN: Thank you for all your kind words, for reviews, favs and follows. They make me think this story is worth continuing._

 _An enormous thank you to Remasa for beta reading and her advice. Check out her new spooktober fic "Hidden Agendas". It's awesome and then next chapter is going to be even better!_

 _For more miraculous content visit my profile or tumblr blog: perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr. com . Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art. My askbox is open too! Hopefully see you soon in the next chapter!_


	5. Icing

_Author's Note: I just wanted to get this chapter out before Frozer airs. That's the magic of the spoilers - they somehow made me finish this despite the fever and the throat ache and my general death wish._

 _Enjoy while I get some well deserved sleep! This has been written a few minutes ago and hasn't been betaed._

* * *

 **Up To Date**

 **Chapter 5. Icing**

Bam!

Kagami landed on the ice for what must have been like a hundredth time. Once again Adrien offered her his hand and helped her up. He carefully brushed the frost from the back of her coat and offered an encouraging smile. She strengthened the grip on his hand and wobbled on her skates.

'If I haven't know you better, I would have thought you were just looking for an occasion to get all touchy,' she jested. Even being nothing but freezing disaster didn't spoil her mood and Adrien was infinitely grateful for that.

'I'll have you know I'm a perfect gentleman,' he steered her lightly in the direction of the railing. 'Mama Agreste didn't raise a perv.'

'You'd be surprised at how many pervs have better pedigrees than you,' she muttered darkly.

She tottered next to him trying to figure out the balance and stumbled once again, right into his arms.

'Sorry,' she sighed in resignation.

'At least I can brag that you've fallen for me on the first date,' he grinned at her.

'Must have been some sixty times so far,' she chuckled leaning on him to pull herself up.

They straightened up just in time to catch a glimpse of Marinette gliding through the air above Luka's head.

'Hi, guys!' she called happily.

Kagami blinked following her movement, as Luka lowered the girl down onto the ice again and she pirouetted gracefully before coming to a halt next to her date.

'Did she just…?' the fencer trailed off.

'Yeah, she did,' Adrien shook his head. 'I never would have thought she could even skate like that.' It also never crossed his mind that Luka could pull off all those lifts and such. And even if Adrien's date turned out to have no skating skills whatsoever, he couldn't help the little pang of jealousy at the sight of Marinette soaring through the ice rink hand in hand with Luka as if they owned the place.

'Oh, so you thought both of us couldn't skate, and that's why you decided to set the date on the ice rink?' Kagami pointed out matter-of-factly. There wasn't any spite or sourness in her voice, she was rather amused with the situation.

'No, I-...' Adrien rubbed the back of his head, the motion unbalancing the two of them. 'To be honest I thought you all possessed average skating skills, and the idea came from a series I watched recently.'

'Nerd,' the girl whispered.

Adrien snickered beside her. His gaze set back on the other couple trailing gleefully a few meters away. It was strangely refreshing to see Marinette like this. He never minded that she was a bit of a klutz, besides she seemed comfortable with that trait. And yet she somehow managed to leave her discoordination in the locker room and by putting on her skates she became the paragon of grace. Her moves seemed so effortless, so light. And her unwavering smile warmed his heart. Could this be he had accidentally uncovered Marinette at her element?

Or rather it was Luka who uncovered her. Watching those two skating reminded him of the seamless partnership Chat Noir had with Ladybug. Luka and Marinette moved with such ease, in unison, as if they understood each other without words. It seemed like they were having the perfect date that Adrien had been planning to have.

He watched in awe as Marinette twirled in yet another pirouette until Luka stopped her by wrapping an arm around her waist and dipping her expertly. His face hovered a few centimeters above Marinette's and even from his far position Adrien could see the blush dusting the girl's cheeks, as she gazed into Luka's eyes. The boy hesitated for a moment before the spell broke. He smiled and pulled her up to his chest. Marinette giggled and swatted at him. She caught Adrien's eye and waved at him.

'They look really nice together,' Kagami noticed. 'Marinette seems happy. This was a really good idea,' she decided, squeezing his arm.

'Hey, you two,' Marinette greeted as she stopped next to them. Luka made a show of circling around and splashing them with ice.

'I haven't seen you skate yet, Kagami,' the pigtailed girl pointed out. 'Adrien isn't doing a good job at teaching you then,' she winked and extended her hand. 'Come on, I'll show you a few tricks.'

Kagami ducked her head. 'I'd love to!' she exclaimed and carefully detached herself from Adrien only to take Marinette's offered hand. Soon they were making their way through the rink, Marinette fawning over the other girl like a mother hen. And strangely enough Kagami seemed to grow more confident and stable by the second.

Luka patted Adrien over the shoulder pointing to the railing.

'I owe you a big thank you,' he said as he leaned on the glass barrier.

'Oh?' Adrien raised a curious brow.

'If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have had the courage to ask her out,' Luka pointed to the far end of the rink where Marinette was showing Kagami how to move backwards.

'Come on, you?' Adrien nudged him with an elbow. 'You seem so confident.'

'Maybe,' Luka's eyes darkened. 'But no one likes to be turned down, and I thought-'

Adrien frowned. This was something new. Luka was always chill and now he seemed a bit insecure and sad. 'You thought?' the blond prompted.

'To be honest I thought she wouldn't be interested in me because she seemed to like… you,' he concluded.

Adrien burst into laughter. 'Marinette? She is a really great friend but we're not like that,' he shook his head.

Luka eyed him suspiciously. 'You're sure?' he knitted his brows.

Adrien paused under his gaze, sudden awkwardness washing over him. He recalled a few interactions with Marinette, when he was under the impression there was something more to her fondness of him than mere friendship. Could he have misinterpreted her actions? But then why would she deny when he asked her about it after that Troublemaker chaos?

Besides, did it really matter, when he was on a date with Kagami, and Marinette seemed to enjoy herself so much in Luka's company?

'Nah,' he shrugged. 'I'm sure.'

It was like a magic spell. The tension Adrien hadn't noticed before dropped from Luka's shoulders and the boy straightened up. His features relaxed. Adrien could have sworn that the boy released a sigh of relief. Had Luka really been considering him as competition?

'So,' the other boy teased looking to the girls, 'I thought your date was supposed to be an expert on blades.'

Adrien suppressed a snort. 'She must be an angel if she hasn't hated me yet.'

'Angel you say?' Luka trailed off, his eyes dimmed as his gaze followed Marinette's path on the ice.

And despite trying really hard Adrien couldn't help but to clench his fists and grit his teeth. Where did that come from?

* * *

 _AN: Please, let me know what you think of this chapter! After Frozer airs I'm not sure if I find the motivation to continue._

 _Your reviews, favs and follows are appreciated and much squealed at! 3_

 _For more miraculous content visit my profile or tumblr blog perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com . I share spoilers and fangirl at new episodes there if I can. Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art._ _My askbox is open too!_


	6. Bending over backwards

_Author's Note: As I started this story before Frozer was aired I had to make some assumptions about Kagami, Luka and everyone's skating skills. I was wrong in some aspects, like Kagami's personality and ways of expression, so keep in mind that in this fic she might be OOC._

 _That doesn't mean I don't like what the creators did in the show! I really enjoyed their idea for Kagami, but I feel that what Adrien needs in his life is not another strict and up to the point person, with clearly set goals and determination (in other words a teenage female version of his father), so my Kagami won't follow that pattern. I hope this clears up a few things._

* * *

 _ **Up To Date**_

 _ **Chapter 6. Bending over backwards**_

'Bend your knees and keep them lax,' Marinette instructed as Kagami bobbed unsteadily on her skates. 'That way you'll be ready to react faster for any shifts in your balance.'

The fencer nodded and obediently took the stance Marinette asked for. She slid once, twice, pushing her blades experimentally, then turned around and came to a halt next to her self-proclaimed instructor. 'You're a really good teacher,' she praised with a smile.

'Thank you,' the pigtailed girl smiled. 'I hope you're having a good time, despite the…not so fortunate choice of activity,' she ventured.

Kagami waved her hand dismissively. 'Yeah, don't worry about that.' She pointed to the skates. 'The only blades I haven't had the time to master,' she smirked.

'Give yourself some credit,' Marinette nudged her with her elbow. 'You're doing great!'

'Me?' the fencer snorted out a laugh. ' _You_ are doing _fantastic!_ ' She gestured to Marinette's figure. 'I saw you at the fencing session once so I knew you were not a total klutz, like some people seem to think, but I am genuinely impressed with what I've seen today.'

'Thanks,' Marinette brushed her bangs out of her eyes to hide her embarrassment. 'Maman likes skating so I've had plenty of practice.'

'Honey, practising with your Maman is one thing,' Kagami shot a glance in the boys direction. 'But the tricks you've pulled off with Luka,' she whistled appreciatively. 'I can't believe this is the first time you two have met on the ice. You look amazing!'

'We do?' Marinette flushed.

She peeked at her date talking to Adrien by the railing. Luka caught her eye and sent her a sweet smile, full of dimples and rainbows.

'Luka is nice,' Marinette said, more to herself than to the other girl.

'But?' Kagami frowned.

'But?' she echoed. 'There's no "but". I was… just having second thoughts about this double date idea. Plus I was scared you won't have fun, and then that you can't skate as good as Adrien thought…' she started to ramble, knitting her brows.

The fencer put a hand on her shoulder. 'I really don't mind,' Kagami said softly. 'At least I have time to chat with Adrien,' she explained. 'It's nice to be able to do just that, without all the sports stuff in the way.'

Marinette perked up. 'That's great!' she sighed in relief.

Kagami turned out to be quite a pleasant company once she dropped her ice queen act. Marinette felt flattered that she was one of the few people included in that inner circle beyond the ice walls of Tsurugi castle. For the first time she was genuinely pleased she had helped Adrien with his dating plan. He deserved to be happy and, as much as it hurt not to be his choice, Marinette had to admit that Kagami and him had a lot in common, and the fencer was a good match for her classmate.

As to Marinette's match, Luka left Adrien by the rink balustrade and in a few languid glides he was at her side. He wrapped his hand around her shoulder hesitantly, a silent plea for permission. Marinette didn't shy away, but leaned into his touch. This was such a pleasant sensation, to be so close to someone and to feel comfortable with that closeness. She felt welcomed in his personal space just as she didn't mind his presence in hers. Maybe that ease was the key to their effortless skating?

'Hey, you,' she pushed her shoulder into him.

'Hey yourself,' he pushed back catching her hand and twirling her around. 'If you girls are done here, I'd love to skate some more with my charming date before they close the rink,' he murmured gazing at her softly.

Marinette felt warmth spilling over her limbs as she melted under his gaze. 'I'd love to,' she murmured, but then remembered her friend. 'You don't mind, do you?'

'Nah,' Kagami smirked at the pair. 'I'm gonna show Adrien what you've taught me.' With that she moved to the railing where the blond was waving at her. Her strides were much more confident now than when she first entered the rink.

'You're a really good teacher, Marinette,' Luka smiled offering her his hand. 'Maybe you could teach me something, too?'

* * *

All in all, Adrien thought, the date turned out not to be such a disaster. True, Kagami couldn't skate very well, but it had been nice to just talk and laugh, and even flirt a little. Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold, but her eyes sparkled with mirth.

'Oh, I can't feel my legs,' she groaned, slipping her feet into her trainers.

'May I offer you a lift then?' Adrien half-crouched with his back to her. 'Hop on!' he encouraged shooting her a bright smile over his shoulder.

Kagami hesitated for a moment, mouth agape and limbs frozen, so Adrien started to worry he overdid it, but then she giggled and did as he asked.

'First time piggybacking?' he murmured when her hands crossed over his chest.

'Mhmm,' came an amused reply. 'If my mother saw me now…' she added with a scandalized gasp that made Adrien chuckle himself.

Steadily he made his way to the main entrance to the accompaniment of soft giggles from his passenger. He could already see Marinette's and Luka's silhouettes outside, but then his eyes registered his own reflection in the glass door. Ruffled hair, reddened cheeks, slightly disheveled clothes and of course four additional limbs and girl's head peeking from behind his shoulder.

'I wish I could see the look on Father's face!' he snorted.

'That can be arranged,' Kagami said decisively and before he could protest, she called. 'Hey, Marinette! Can you take a picture of us?'

Their friend froze at the sight of Kagami being carried by Adrien. 'A-are you hurt?' she frowned.

Luka wiggled his eyebrows at them in what Adrien thought of as appreciative way. And suddenly the blond felt more self-conscious than just a moment before, when all this seemed like a good joke, with a pinch of wooing for good measure.

Kagami only laughed in reply. 'Was I really _that_ bad?' she asked with mock hurt.

'No!' Marinette flushed. 'I just thought… ah sorry… just give me a second!' She fished the phone out of her purse, the task difficult because for some reason her hands were shaking. 'Now smile for me!' she announced taking a few shots.

Kagami untangled herself from him, her lips stretched in a delighted smile. She smoothed out her skirt and leaned on his shoulder.

A series of beeps in his pocket told Adrien that Marinette already sent him the pictures. 'Thanks!' he patted his phone. 'My driver should be her any minute, do you guys want a lift home?' he offered.

Something flashed in Marinette's eyes as she hesitantly opened her mouth to reply, but Luka beat her to it. 'Actually,' he took her hand entwining his fingers with hers. 'I had a great time tonight but I don't want this evening to end yet. Can I walk you home, Marinette?' he ventured, almost shyly. 'It's nice and warm and the bakery is not that far,' he added.

Adrien felt Kagami squeezing his shoulder. She hummed excitedly, clearly reacting enthusiastically to Luka's gesture. Now the blond regretted he hadn't come up with a similar idea himself.

Marinette looked to her date, then to Adrien and Kagami, biting her lip and knitting her brows. Then a soft smile lit her face. 'That'd be lovely,' she murmured eliciting a delighted exhale from Luka and quite unexpectedly sending shivers down Adrien's spine.

She broke from Luka's grip and came to the two of them. 'I had a great time,' she said to Adrien. 'Thank you-' she trailed off, but the blond nodded, letting her know he understood. Her presence here and her date were the result of his persuasion skills after all.

And Adrien was glad he succeeded. He was genuinely happy to see Marinette in a good mood, though the feeling had a bitter edge to it, something that he couldn't put his finger to, but that was making him a bit uneasy. He stomped hard on that emotion, laying on his charm thick.

'I'm glad,' he smiled. 'Maybe we can repeat it sometime,' he turned to Kagami who nodded vigorously.

Marinette pecked the girl lightly on the cheek and then climbed to her toes to give him a kiss as well when she swayed. His hand was faster than his landed on her back before he could even blink. Marinette stiffened, but he thought nothing of it, just leaned down to kiss her cheek instead. 'Have fun,' he whispered teasingly in her ear, hearing Kagami giggle beside him.

His classmate squeaked something incoherently in reply and blushed fiercely as she retreated to her date's side.

Luka gave them a nod and offered his arm to Marinette. Adrien watched as the two of them disappeared around the corner, submerged in silence that was anything but awkward. Kagami nudged him with her elbow.

'Our ride is here,' she pointed to the silver car.

'Oh, right,' he snapped out of his transe. 'Come on, let's get you home.'

* * *

'This is nice.' Luka gestured between them as they entered the park next to the bakery. 'I don't mind Adrien and Kagami, but I was getting a bit jealous.'

'Excuse me?' Marinette looked at him in surprise. She had a lot to think about on her first date, but she was sure she hadn't done anything that could make him jealous. She also kept away from Adrien as much as she could, considering it was a double date he had been attending as well.

'Of your attention, Marinette,' the boy chuckled. 'You think I haven't noticed how you had been bending over backwards to make all of us feel special and for us to have a good time?'

She ducked her head. Luka was much more perceptive than she had given him credit for.

'And I'm happy I finally have you to myself,' he drawled. 'You're a really great company, you know that?'

'You too,' Marinette replied shyly. The downpour of compliments was doing funny things with her blood pressure.

'The ice rink was fun, but I enjoy this much more,' he squeezed her fingers.

She didn't know what to say, so she only offered him a warm smile. They fell into step again, enveloped in silence until Luka caught her eye. He smirked and started humming under his breath. A soft, slow melody, a little bit hopeful, a little bit melancholic, that seemed to flow straight from her heart. She allowed herself to drown in the sounds and before she noticed they were at her house's door.

'Thank you for a lovely evening, Marinette,' Luka murmured, taking both of her hands in his.

'You too!' she assured him hotly. 'I had a really great time tonight!'

His smile widened. 'Then… maybe I could take you out again sometime?' he asked ducking his head. He watched her expectantly from under his blue bangs. 'Just the two of us?'

* * *

 _AN: I'm grateful for all the positive feedback this story got so far! As you can see I'm trying to continue. Of course time is the main issue here. But know that I appreciate your reviews, favs and follows greatly!_

 _Let me know what you think of this new chapter._

 _As usual many thanks to Remasa for polishing this chapter for you. Check out her fic "Hidden Agendas". It's awesome and has cool murder mystery!_

 _For more miraculous content visit my profile or tumblr blog. Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art. My askbox is open too! Hopefully see you soon in the next chapter!_


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